According to The Athletic, Liverpool are looking at a loan signing or a free transfer as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his defence ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, and sources close to West Ham United centre-back Issa Diop claim that they have enquired about the French defender.
However, the Hammers are not likely to sanction a loan for the £20 million-rated defender should the Reds come calling, unless it came with an obligation to buy.
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Liverpool were dealt a massive blow during the week following injuries to Fabinho and Joel Matip, and they are now left with Jordan Henderson, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips as their only options at centre-back.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez could both remain out of action for the rest of the campaign as they recover from their knee injuries, and Klopp is now desperate to bring in a cover at the back.
Diop is manager David Moyes’ fourth choice centre-back at West Ham, with Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Fabian Balbuena all ahead of him in the pecking order, and he has been reportedly told that he can go out on loan before the end of the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old has played just six games for the London Stadium outfit this term, and he is clearly not short of suitors, with a number of teams keen on taking him on loan this month.
West Ham want all of his wages covered as well as a loan fee, and it will interesting to see whether Liverpool will go after a defender Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho once dubbed a monster.
That happened back in September 2018 when the Portuguese was still the manager of Manchester United, and things have changed since then, with Diop suffering a significant dip in form.
That Moyes does not rate him speaks volumes, and taking a punt on him could be a huge gamble that backfires on Liverpool’s part.
